Linuxcare Secures $32.5 Million From Dell, Sun, And Others

For Linux vendors, the coffers continue to runneth over.Linuxcare Inc. has secured $32.5 million in private funding from a group of venture capitalists and technology companies, including Dell Computer, Sun Microsystems, Oracle, and Motorola. The San Francisco startup provides technical support, systems integration, and user training for the open-source operating system on behalf of vendors including Dell, IBM, and Sun.

Patricof & Co. Ventures Inc. was the lead investor in Tuesday's second round of financing for Linuxcare. The prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers also participated, along with Apax Partners Europe and Integral Capital Partners.

Linuxcare also made three small acquisitions. It bought the Puffin Group in Ottawa, a privately held professional services firm that has partnered with Hewlett-Packard to bring Linux to HP's RISC-based servers. In addition, Linuxcare bought Prosa, a six-person Italian consulting firm, and Cheek Consulting in Seattle, which maintains a database of Linux technical information.